Moving to Brussels with a Preschooler and a Toddler

[shellybr]

Hey, I know you have proberly covered this topic loads but just a couple of questions if you guys don't mind. We are moving in May with a just 4yr DS and a 1yr DS. My husband has been there for the last few months but now they have extended his contract for a year so we are all going. Just from reading the other treads I am a little worried about getting DS into a local school. A few mentioned it might be hard to find a place. At the moment we are looking at WSP. Can you get around with having to buy a car? Also we are going to be there over the summer and I don't suppose we will have been able to get him into school before September so is there anything we could go to so he could get to know some other kids his own age?

Thanks and Happy Paddy's day

He can come and play with my ds (also just 4) if you'd like

Seriously though, there are holiday clubs (stages) over the summer, and you could always enrol him in one or more of these if you want him to meet other children. It might well be a bit daunting for him though (considering his age) and it will mostly be in French. I'm sure you could find english speaking ones - there is one I know of, but you would need a car to get to it.

Have you been in touch with any schools? There are a couple of resident MN experts when it comes to schools, and I'm afraid I'm not one of them! Hopefully one will be along soon!

Re needing a car, I think you probably would be able to get by without a car if you are living in town. I do have friends that don't drive and they get on fine!

Must dash but good luck with all the preparations, and we look forward to hopefully meeting you when you come over!

Just read that back, and it sounds like I wasn't being serious when I said your ds could play with my ds - I did mean it!

Happy St Patricks Day to you too!

ps when did your ds turn 4? Mine was 4 on the 22nd feb...

pps Forgot to ask where you are moving from?

He is 4 in May and we are hoping to be there by the begining of may, mostly depends on getting somewhere to live! Is your fella in school or at home with you? If we could find some playmates I am not so worried about the summer just the thought of trying to keep him occupied with noone to play with for the whole summer is kind of scary. What part of Brussels are you living in.

P.S DS would love another little boy to play with,, most of the kids around here seemt be girls and think he misses the boy company.

We're not actually in Brussels, but are about 40 mins south (between Wavre and Jodoigne). I work in Brussels during the week, the journey isn't that bad. There are also train stations nearby in case you wanted to come over!

I'm sure you'll be able to find playmates! What about joining the BCT (Brussels Childbirth Trust) too? There are regular coffee mornings organised, and you would get to meet other mums and children in your area. It's great! You get a monthly magazine too, giving you loads of info about what's on and what's happening, and it'll also give details of the meet-ups.

We shall look forward to meeting you!

If you want to get in contact off MN, then my email address is mnmeetup @live. com

ps. My ds is in school - he goes to a lovely bilingual school (french and english) near Wavre, which is probably too far out for you. I would highly recommend it though!

Schools in WSP are indeed quite sought after but I know a child who got into one near me last week who is also 4 in May. No space in our school right now for 4 year olds, but maybe in September. If you choose a house instead in Kraainem or Wezembeek-Oppem, you should get a place in all 4 of the French schools in these communes which are only for children in these communes, whereas the Brussels schools are open to all children so get fuller, WSP being a Brussels commune. If the 1 year old is born in 2009, then I would suggest looking quickly for a school place as the first class called acceuil between Sept 2011 and June 2012 is for children born in 2009. Many schools will already be full for this class with waiting lists. Nearly all schools do their own admissions, you have to enquire with every school you are interested in, giving the year of birth of child so the school knows which school year you are looking for. If you get your child's name on a waiting list by phone, follow it up with a confirmation email.

PS no need for a car in WSP, there is a choice of metro, tram and bus within walking distance of most parts of the commune. I go weeks without using the car, I do the weekly shop by bike and trailer.

Hi, I am in WSP with a 4 year old boy (among others) so you can always come and see us for a playdate :)

At a local school too, with HEAPS of expat kids in the maternelle. Nice, friendly school.

Thanks everyone, will definatly be holding you to the playdate offers. Already have the BCT on my list of things to do. Not to worried about the little fella he only turned 1 last week it is more the big one.

Frazzlenz does the nz stand for New Zealand? We have just come home after 4 yrs there, both boys are kiwis.

yep, I'm a kiwi from Wellington (originally chch), been here a few months. Where were you living?

We were in Johnsonville. We loved it both boys were born at Welly Hospital. Sorry we moved back to be honest but have to move on. We will have to get our 2 boys together. How many others do you have?

How did your kids find the local system, DS1 was at kindy before we came to Ireland in August and loved it he isn't too fussed with the montessori here. Did you find it easy to settle in yourself

I used to live on Clifford Road around the corner from Jville primary but then we moved to Newlands. What a small world!

I have three boys aged 11, 7 and 4. They have settled in better than we hoped although the eldest has found it hard to make friends. Luckily he can hang out with the 7 year old at school. He has outgrown the primary though and we are hoping he will pass the end of year exams and move on to the local high school. The other 2 have made friends mostly with the English speakers in their class, but they are starting to make friends with the French speakers now too (so thats after 7 months at school). Language acquisition took longer than I thought it would. My kids understand more than they say. Its a confidence issue I think. Not wanting to get it wrong.

When do you get here? You should definitely drop by for a coffee and we can swap stories about j'ville :) Its crazy to think we probably only lived a couple of kms away from you!

Haha I lived on Monowai Rd just up from the school,

We are planning on being there beginning of May. We will definatly be on for a catch up I am really missing all my kiwi friends. Would be hilarious if we knew the same people. DS went to Churton Park Kindy.

Did you find it hard to settle in yourself? We are trying to decide were to live at the moment, Dh is over there but not to sure his priorities would be the same as mine. Do you like were you are living?

Well we love where we are, looks like we are about to move to Kraainem, but still not far from Stockel. We love that the sports facilities, cinema, shops, metro, tram, school are all within walking distance. The forest is not far, hubby runs around the forest all the time and we bike there or to Parc Malou when weather is good. We have no plans to live anywhere else, this is the only place which feels like home. We still feel a bit like outsiders, but love the mix of nationalities and languages - our 3 eldest children all study Dutch, I'd like to think that one of them at least will reach trilingual level.

I guess where you live depends on commute to work and what sort of environment you like to live in. We had advance notice of a possible move 3 years before moving, so it gave us plenty of time to research location and schools. You don't have so much time, but BEWARE RELOCATION AGENTS, I have never heard of a good story about one that chose a good location, we didn't use one, except for arranging contracts, only then because we were obliged.

Checking out the "convert links automatically" thingy www.stib.be/irj/go/km/docs/STIB-MIVB/INTERNET/attachments/Plan_reseau/20110314-plan.pdf

That's the link to the STIB (metro, tram, bus, local train) network. It's a bit temperamental sometimes but I've got it saved on my desktop as I don't have a car and it's a great file to have.

I've had my dh's car for the past two weeks and I must say it's been nice to have it as although we live right next to a metro stop, it does (apart from in rush hour) take a lot longer if you use public transport. However, on the upside, you don't have to worry about parking or the idiot drivers you get in Brussels !

I helped another mumsnetter moving here in the summer with schools a couple of weeks ago. It was more complicated than for you as she has one going into secondary and one going into primary. However, the primary school she asked for is taking names for a waiting list where her son is currently 12th. I also put his name down in four other schools, all waiting lists. It might be easier for maternelles though.

It's a bit like the chicken and the egg thing isn't it? Do you look for an area and then a school or ring round the schools to see where there are places and then try and find a house in that area. If you need help ringing, just let one of us know. I'm sure we can help.

Dd has been on several summer "stages" with Toboggan They are predominantly in French though.

Kiddy Junior do languages with sports in the summer holidays - this might be especially useful for you.

Action Sport are based in WSP and do a range of activities.

For Summer stages, you will have more problem choosing than finding something, the choice is so big. The weekly stages 9-4 cost from 40 euro to 200 euro per week, depending on activity. You can search by commune for French based activities here ...
www.bruxellesenvacances.be/

ISB and BSB also run stages in English and both schools are accessible by tram from the Woluwes. Expect to pay perhaps twice as much for a stage in English.

Brussels Childbirth Trust (BCT) activities continue over the Summer too. It took me a few months to really pluck up the courage to attend their coffee mornings, as I had no children to take with me as they all started school. I go every now and then now. There is also the British and Commonwealth Women's Club (BCWC) whose clubhouse is in WSP, they cater for older ladies and also young mums with or without children - English children's library, Pilates, mums and tots group, nights out, they are quite active. I'm not a member but have friends who really enjoy this club. Many are both BCT and BCWC members. Oh and Irish counts for membership of BCWC!!!

bcwcb.weebly.com/mums-n-youngs.html

www.bctbelgium.com/

The BCT was brilliant when my boys were little. Thoroughly recommend it.

I can recommend the BCT too. I never really did baby things as dd went to Maternelle and I went to work, but I regularly volunteered for the Fun Days and did Girls' Nights Out etc. I have met some really nice people.

One of my favourite funny memories though is a great night out with the EU/Cinquentaire/Schaerbeek group where everyone was discussing where to buy ball gowns for a dinner at the Italian Embassy or some such. I sat here like . These things don't tend to come up in conversation in my normal social sphere. .

Ha, ha, you should have slummed it with the Auderghem/Boitsfort group. It was all baby poo and bleary-eyed mums I see to remember.

It's DS2's birthday today. Born just under an hour ago. He was a bit speedy and I nearly gave birth to him in the lift! He had to go into an incubator as he was five weeks early :(

Aaaaaaahhhh just wrote a long post and the website crashed and I lost it!

ANYWAY, Longtime, my youngest was a prem too, he was 5weeks +4 ended up on a breathing tube in an incubator. He turned one on the 10th and to look at him besides being on the small side you would never know what he went through. Happy Birthday to your little guy I hope he has a good birthday.

A few more question if you lovely ladies don't mind, is it possible to get a shorter lease then 3 years? We are only planning on being there a year. Are kids clothes expensive, should I stock up here before I go?

Thanks for all your help and suggestions. I will definatly be joining the BCT.

You can get a shorter lease if the landlord is willing, 1yr, 2yrs, 3yrs, but they will be fixed and if you leave before the end of the period, you will be liable for the entire period eg after 6 months of a 1 year and your penalty is 6 months. This type of contract would not allow any wear and tear either. Only 3/6/9 contracts have any concept built into them of any wear and tear. Be aware that landlords see the 2 months deposit often as theirs and will do anything to keep it, charging you for breakagages, the tiniest things, often charging more than the 2 months deposit. So factor losing your deposit, see it as a bonus if you get any back. That applies to any type of contract.

Clothes are very expensive, unless bought in the sales, few exceptions like H&M and C&A. Shoes probably more expensive even. I buy alot of our children's from the UK by mail order.